Daily Routines
Every child is unique.Their stories should be too.
Personalized social stories featuring your child's name, appearance, and the specific challenges only they face — backed by research, not guesswork.
Free forever • Huge story library • No credit card needed
growtale.org
Born from love
GrowTale was born from the experience of raising a son on the autism spectrum — and the realization that generic social stories just don't connect.
Through countless conversations with other parents navigating similar journeys and collaboration with local educators, a clear need emerged: families deserve tools that actually work, built by people who truly understand.
AI powers the engine, but the heart of GrowTale is a carefully designed framework informed by decades of research in child psychology, applied behavior analysis, and special education best practices.
How It Works
From idea to illustrated story in minutes
1
Create a profile
Add your child's details and preferences
2
Describe the story
Tell us the situation or challenge
3
Read together
Enjoy a custom illustrated story in minutes
Create Profile
Customize your child's details
Describe the Story
Tell us what you need
Read Together
Beautiful illustrated stories
Full Desktop Support
Use GrowTale on any device
GrowTale works beautifully on your desktop, tablet, or phone. No app download required — just open your browser and start creating stories.
Desktop
Tablet
iPhone
Any Browser
growtale.org
Your Dashboard
growtale.org
Immersive Reading
growtale.org
Story Creator
Works on Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge • Syncs across all your devices
Free Forever
Start reading today
GrowTale includes a large library of free social stories covering common situations — dentist visits, first days of school, handling big emotions, and more.
- Free account
- Read unlimited times
- No credit card
Explore the Library
20 stories available
Health & Safety
Wearing My Mask
5 min read
Health & Safety
Using the Phone to Call for Help
6 min read
Daily Routines
My Visit to the Library
6 min read
Health & Safety
My First Swimming Lesson
6 min read
Health & Safety
Buckle Up for Every Ride
5 min read
Emotions
When My Pet Goes to Heaven
6 min read
Social Skills
Saying Sorry When I Make a Mistake
5 min read
Social Skills
Waiting My Turn in Line
5 min read
Social Skills
Going to a Birthday Party
6 min read
Daily Routines
Trying New Foods with Aisha
5 min read
Daily Routines
Shopping at the Grocery Store
6 min read
School
Fire Drill at School
7 min read
Health & Safety
Getting My Shot at the Doctor
6 min read
Health & Safety
Emma Goes to the Dentist
6 min read
Health & Safety
Getting My Hair Cut
6 min read
Daily Routines
Madden's Morning Adventure
6 min read
Daily Routines
Madden's Quiet Voice
5 min read
Emotions
Amir Calms Down When Frustrated
6 min read
Emotions
Understanding My Emotions at School
6 min read+
View Full Library
Browse all free stories
Swipe to explore • All stories free to read
Resources for Parents
Practical guides and tips to help your child navigate everyday challenges.
transitions
How to Help Your Autistic Child Handle Schedule Changes and Cancelled Plans
Learn practical strategies to help your autistic child cope with schedule changes, unexpected surprises, and cancelled plans. Evidence-based tips from parenting experts.
10 min read
transitions
How to Prepare Your Child with Autism for Kindergarten: A Step-by-Step Transition Guide
Learn how to prepare your autistic child for kindergarten with practical strategies, social stories, and expert tips. A compassionate step-by-step guide for parents.
14 min read
family
How to Help Siblings Understand Autism: Age-Appropriate Conversations That Build Empathy
Learn how to explain autism to your child's siblings with age-appropriate conversations that build empathy and strengthen family bonds. Practical strategies inside.
11 min read
Not just a name in a template
GrowTale captures the full picture of who your child is. When they see themselves in the story — their hair, their favorite things, the people they love — the connection is immediate.
Appearance
Hair, eyes, skin tone — they see themselves in every illustration
Interests
Their favorite things woven naturally into the story
Important People
Family members, teachers, friends — the people in their world
Specific Challenges
The exact situations they need help navigating
Language to Avoid
Words or phrases that don't work for your child
Age-Appropriate Art
15+ styles matched to their developmental stage
Stories for challenges only your child faces
We're not talking about another generic dentist visit story. We're talking about:
- 1
The specific commercial that overwhelms them every time it comes on TV
- 2
The morning routine step they skip to avoid a particular classroom activity
- 3
The unique trigger that no generic story could ever address
Print-Ready Booklets
A real book in your hands
GrowTale stories aren't trapped on a screen. Download any story as a PDF, print it out, fold it in half — and you have a real story book in your hands. No binding, no special equipment.
These printed booklets travel with your child anywhere, device-free:
In the backpack
At grandma's house
With the counselor
No batteryNo wifiNo screen time debate
growtale.org
Built for Everyone
Accessibility isn't an afterthought
GrowTale is designed to work for every family. We've built accessibility into every feature — because every child deserves stories that work for them.
Full VoiceOver Support
Complete screen reader compatibility
Dynamic Type
Respects your iOS font size settings
Dyslexia-Friendly
Optional OpenDyslexic font
Read Aloud
Text-to-speech on every page
WCAG 2.1 AA compliant • Reduced motion support • Offline reading
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about social stories and how GrowTale works.
Social stories are short, structured narratives created by Carol Gray in 1990 to help children — particularly those with autism — understand social situations, routines, and expectations. They describe a situation from the child's perspective, explaining what will happen, why, and how to respond appropriately.
Yes. Research consistently shows that social stories are an evidence-based intervention for children with autism spectrum disorder. Studies demonstrate improvements in social skills, daily routines, and emotional regulation. Personalized social stories — featuring the child's own name and interests — show even stronger engagement and outcomes.
You create a profile with your child's name, age, appearance, interests, and challenges. Then you describe the situation you want to address. GrowTale's AI generates a custom illustrated story featuring your child, following Carol Gray's Social Story methodology. Stories can be read online, downloaded as PDF, or printed as booklets.
GrowTale creates social stories for children ages 2 through 14. Stories are automatically adapted to the child's developmental level — simpler language and friendly illustrations for younger children, more detailed narratives for older kids.
GrowTale offers a free library of illustrated social stories covering common topics like daily routines, emotions, social skills, and school. These are free to read, download as PDF, and print. Personalized stories featuring your child require Story Credits.
Yes. Every story can be downloaded as a print-ready PDF booklet. Simply fold the pages in half for an instant book. Many parents print one copy for home and one for school or therapy.
Yes. GrowTale stories are built on Carol Gray's Social Story methodology, using appropriate sentence types (descriptive, perspective, coaching) and maintaining the recommended ratio of descriptive to directive sentences.
Yes. While social stories were originally developed for autism, they are also effective for children with ADHD, anxiety, and other developmental differences. They help children understand expectations, manage emotions, and prepare for challenging situations.